SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government will be commissioning its own water demand management study to ascertain the amount of water used by the consumers in the state at present and in the future.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Dato Seri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the current datas provided by Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) may not be accurate in forecasting the needs of water consumers in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya.

The state is made to believe that the Federal Government relied on a “National Water Resources Study (NWRS)” which was commissioned by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in 2000. In fact, the Pahang-Selangor Water Transfer Project is also based on the study.

It has to be pointed out that the NWRS estimates of per capita water demand are not based on the Malaysian Water Association’s “Design Guidelines for Water Supply Systems” as we understand it.

Instead, they use a “Water Requirements Approach”, which is based on assumptions of national GDP growth amongst others, variables of which would have surely changed based on the global unstable economic market that has since affected Malaysia.

It is interesting to note the NWRS estimates for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur of up to 500-1224 litres of water consumed per capita per day (l/c/d) in 2010, as compared with per capita water consumptions reported for major cities of the world, such as Singapore (328 l/c/d), Sydney (214 l/c/d) and even New York City (420 l/c/d).

“We therefore have reason to believe that these demand estimates are inflated. If so, the basis to justify the Pahang-Selangor project is itself questionable,” said the Menteri Besar.

The statement made by chief executive officer of Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) yesterday (20th July 2010) that the volume amount of water produced is insufficient to cater to the steep demand for water must be substantiated with their version of water demand projections.

The state reiterates that our demand projections showed there is more than sufficient water produced to cater to the needs of consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

The design capacity of all water treatment plants will be able to meet these demand growths. Furthermore, upgrading of water treatment plants to meet optimum production capacity is already in the process of being completed, hence there is no need to make a hasty decision on a multi-billion dollar project.

“Until a more transparent and detailed study on water demand is conducted, the only reasons that can account for the discrepancy of figures between the Federal Government and the Selangor government are either, one, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur consumers indeed use a large amount of water even higher than other developed cities of the world; two, that indeed Syabas has been unable to contain its gross water losses due to Non-Revenue Water (NRW); or three, the figures upon which we are relying are actually problematic,” said the Menteri Besar.

Instead of promoting one mega-project after another to sustain water demand, a water-demand management approach must be adopted by the Federal Government in their planning projections.
The state stresses that there is sufficient water supply for consumers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur but whilst taking this position, we also promote water conservation and encourage prudent consumption, water recycling, rainwater harvesting, reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and exploring alternative water resources.

PRESS SECRETARIAT
OFFICE OF DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR

Controlled by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) since independence and now led by the increasingly autocratic Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian government knows Anwar is the only viable threat to its half-century of rule. Anwar became a risk to the government as deputy prime minister in 1998 when he began attacking corruption and calling for reform. Ultimately he became leader of the opposition.

Najib’s UMNO is trying to jail Anwar again in hopes of crushing his People’s Justice Party (PKR). A secular Muslim party, PKR leads a diverse political coalition with ethnic Chinese and Islamist partners. If Anwar is neutralized, this opposition movement would be paralyzed.

Anwar’s accuser – a former intern – admits to meeting with Najib just days before the alleged sexual act occurred and he has since changed his story several times. The charges against Anwar are transparently political. But the obvious intent of the trial matters little in Malaysia, where the government exercises a disabling grip on the justice system and the media.

Yet as one visits Kuala Lumpur today, these autocratic tendencies are not immediately visible. The modern splendor of this city and the surrounding wealthy state of Selangor help disguise one of the world’s most insidious authoritarian governments.

Najib’s most powerful tool is the Internal Security Act – a remnant from the days of British colonialism that gives the Interior Minister power to indefinitely and arbitrarily imprison any Malaysian without trial or even evidence. Through the ISA the government creates a climate of fear by arresting dozens of politicians, journalists, and student leaders.

Opposition voices like Anwar who are politically attacked through the courts are hardly better off than victims of the ISA. Virtually all positions in the justice system beyond the local level are held by government cronies.

Most problematic is that the local media cannot report on the ISA and the puppet justice system. The Printing Presses and Publications Act gives Najib near-absolute control over the news as media organizations need the government’s permission to operate.

Almost all major national newspapers, magazines, television channels, and radio stations here are tied to the ruling UMNO party. And Najib continues to tighten his grip in the face of Anwar’s trial. Suara Keadilan, the publication of Anwar’s PKR party, and the two other visible opposition outlets had their permits revoked on July 1.

The only way to get unfiltered news in Malaysia is online. Here, the media is protected by the “Bill of Guarantee of No Internet Censorship” – a law passed in the 1990s, at the strong suggestion of Bill Gates, to woo IT development to Malaysia.

Unfortunately, internet penetration is extremely limited outside of Malaysian urban centers. In some provinces, less than 10% of the population has online access, and most are stuck with the broadsheets. These read as if from a 1984 dystopia – there is no bad news, and other than culture and sports, there is cant-laden drivel about the government’s righteous quest to “serve the people”.

On a visit to the offices of a small opposition monthly, the editors despaired at the suffocating Malaysian media culture. Not just because it means Malaysians can’t easily find truth, but also because the next generation has grown uninterested: real journalism can no longer be practiced.

Through the silencing of opposition voices, vote-shopping, and gerrymandering, the UMNO-led government is able to continue its autocratic rule while calling Malaysia a democracy. And Najib seeks to perpetuate this charade by clamping down on Malaysian youth. Through the University and University College Act, students are forbidden from having any involvement in politics.

Despite their systemic nature, Malaysia’s human rights violations are largely unknown to the outside world. Many academics and journalists group the country with Indonesia and Turkey as a promising moderate Muslim democracy. And Wikipedia’s entries on Malaysia and on Najib avoid any mention of human rights, the Internal Security Act, censorship, or the crumbling rule of law. Such whitewashing is not surprising given that Najib hired Washington-based APCO Worldwide to burnish his image and besmirch Anwar’s.

Anwar, who has been profiled in TIME, The New Yorker, and Newsweek, and is frequently lionized as a promising Muslim leader, has recently been APCO’s target. In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having “Jewish friends”. Najib’s mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar “would make a good prime minister for Israel.” In return, Anwar seized Najib’s hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm’s supposed ties to Israel. This backfired when APCO distributed Anwar’s comments internationally along with a series of unattributed anti-Semitic statements posted on his website. The result is that on the eve of his trial many of his Western allies have questioned Anwar’s integrity.

The truth is that Anwar has been critical of some policies of the current Israeli government. And in the last few months he has even become more vocal as he wrestles with Najib’s media apparatus to avoid being pinned as blindly pro-Israel. But Anwar is hardly an anti-Semite. Contrast this with UMNO—which has led entire rallies inveighing against “the Jew”. Anwar’s critics should be careful not to carry water for Najib’s party, which proudly sports venomous anti-Semitic rhetoric and conspiracy.

Over dinner in Kuala Lumpur, Anwar told us that unless international actors address issues like censorship and imprisonment without trial, Malaysia will not become the oft-discussed bridge between East and West. Only if his trial is exposed as a sham and he avoids prison might Malaysia have a real democratic contest with elections in 2012 or 2013.

Sadly, this country’s appalling human rights record remains buried under a sea of APCO press releases.

Thor Halvorssen is the president of the Human Rights Foundation and the founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum http://www.oslofreedomforum.com. Alex Gladstein is its chief operating officer.
Read the original article in The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Government today held a forum on the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) with some 200 civil servants, parliamentarians and state assemblymen.

Held in the Annex building here, the forum had begun with a special commentary by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and Selangor State Economic Advisor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In his review, the Menteri Besar said the Federal Government is politicising its economic administration by ignoring the role of Selangor which contributes 20 percent to the economy of Malaysia.

“The term “Klang Valley” seems to have mysteriously been replaced by “Greater Kuala Lumpur”. For example, a chart in the 10MP document shows Kuala Lumpur’s contribution as a city to Malaysian development. In its footnote, “KL” actually “includes Petaling Jaya, Subang, Ampang Jaya, Shah Alam”.

“This is a strange move, as I would expect it is easier to refer to “Selangor” instead since all those areas fall within Selangor. This is affirmed further when Selangor is only mentioned four times throughout the 10MP document and even so only in reference to statistics.”

While Growth Corridors of Iskandar Malaysia, Northern Corridor Economic Region, East Coast Economic Region, Sarawak Corridor and Sabah Development Corridor are mentioned – but no major plans for development have been given to Selangor, which is a blatant dismissal of its importance to national development.

“But the fact is the Federal Government cannot afford to ignore Selangor – its economic worth is too high,” he said.

He also touched on the issue of “transforming government to transform Malaysia, including driving productivity” mentioned in the plan.

“However, they did not expand upon how they intend to achieve this. I would therefore recommend that the way forward is to introduce a productivity-driven government sector. The government should determine what its “tolerable wage” is. Ideally, when the economy expands, wages will also expand simultaneously.

He an “inflation-proof wages” system that is measured by productivity can be formulated which would allow all work should be measured. “Therefore their salaries will be based on productivity. Government salaries could be revamped by beginning with 50% of civil servants being paid for based on their productivity, while the remaining 50% continues working based on a monthly wage.”

Under this mechanism, it would also be possible to introduce minimum wages into the labour market, that is, a productivity-driven minimum wage. Productivity levels would be determined by the employer based on the average productive output.

“With this productivity-driven civil service salary scheme, it is possible to mitigate the effects of a ballooning government expenditure, the bulk of which goes to operating expenditure which essentially goes to paying civil servants’ salaries. We must urgently address the problem of our unwieldy expenditure, or risk our rapid debt to GDP ratio.”

The Menteri Besar also said that the 10MP also address the federal government’s intention to manage competition to “ensure fair competition for all companies including GLCs”. However, he said the current system and policy are prone to tremendous potential abuse.

Nevertheless, he added, private investment is required to propel the country forward but it has to be done with the right methodology.

“The Federal Government has been using the wrong model all this while. The solution is to never privatise cost, and only privatise revenue. The cost involved in a particular development project can easily be undertaken by the government through open tender.

Project management should be the part that is privatised as this is where companies can then come out with creative means of generating revenues and maximising profits.”

Therefore, he added, the federal government should privatise the section of a project where ideas, creativity, unique business models, can be proposed to generate greater levels of profit as the project would be given to the tenderer who is able to prove the best return on investment, the highest gross development value.

“Upon making the selection of a particular company able to prove this high GDV, the government then is able to raise funding, and then retender it for purchasers. This model therefore does not assume that a blanket process of “privatisation” takes place wholesale. Instead, the government should exercise wisdom and aptitude in selecting which parts of a particular project should be privatised, and which should remain nationalised for public interest. “

Meanwhile, Anwar said the federal government must cease private tenders that doles out projects to undeserving companies which neither has the ability nor the experience to deliver.

As to the issues of subsidies, he said priorities must be given to the people. “What’s the point we are talking about subsidized sugar, oil and other essential items that have direct impact the rakyat, especially low-income groups. What about the subsidies to the IPPs (independent Power Producers)? Here about RM20billion owned by millionaires who obviously do not need financial assistance from the Government.”

PRESS SECRETARIAT
OFFICE OF SELANGOR MENTERI BESAR

In making the announcement, he said the two policies were the Pakatan Rakyat State Government Administration Integrity Index and the Integrity Pact (IP) which would be used as the yardstick to gauge the government’s effectiveness and progress each year.

“The Integrity Index will enable the government to evaluate its position in terms of administration and the people in the state can assess the state government’s commitment toward its policies,” he told reporters after chairing the weekly State Exco meeting, here Wednesday.

Abdul Khalid said the IP would be used to prevent and eliminate corruption especially in the awarding of contracts and public tender.

He said a representative of the Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) had also given a briefing on the new policy at the Exco meeting.

In this context, he said the state government would set up a Special Committee for the implementation of the State Government Administration Integrity Index and the IP.- BERNAMA

For all the propaganda spouted by BN-owned media, it is plain as daylight that Najib Razak reshuffled his cabinet yesterday for the sole purpose of appeasing MCA and MIC’s internal leadership problems, did nothing at all for the rakyat’s interest, and nothing at all to increase women’s representation in government.

The last point truly rankles because Malaysia ranks a deplorable 100 out of 134 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index 2009. To add salt to the wound, Malaysia ranks even worse at female political empowerment at number 113 out of 134 countries, behind the likes of Lesotho, Botswana and Mongolia.

These rankings cannot be the 1Malaysia that Najib vaguely claims to be all-inclusive and non-discriminatory when he has chosen not to appoint a single new female into leadership positions in government. Not even one to fill the vacancy left by Chew Mei Fun when she resigned.

Instead, Najib has chosen to fill appoint even more men into government leadership and further raised the male-female ratio disparity by creating two new deputy minister posts which he again filled with men.

The silence and apathy by BN component party leaders towards this gender divide is glaring. Ng Yen Yen, who was chief of Wanita MCA until 2008, and formerly Women, Family and Community Development Minister as well, has yet to raise a peep in protest of Najib’s disregard and zero commitment to increasing the number of women in positions of leadership in government.
Another issue on the cabinet reshuffle is how the appointment of young politician Chua Tee Yong, son of Chua Soi Lek, as a deputy minister reeks of nepotism. Chua Tee Yong is but a first-term MP who was elected not on his own steam but by taking over Labis constituency formerly held by his father for four terms. Thus, Chua Tee Yong’s appointment appears to be compensation for his father’s conspicuous absence in the Cabinet and Parliament.
Furthermore, I question the ever-changing post of Minister for Housing and Local Government, typically held by MCA, which has been switched several times since 2008. This instability has created a lack of follow-up on the issues and laws related to housing industry which adversely affects the people. I can only hope that Chua Chee Heung will not further disappoint the people now that he is taking over the ministry.
With such dubious and unrepresentative appointments in this cabinet reshuffle, Najib has further betrayed the wishes of the rakyat as evident in the 2008 election results and further denied women, who make up 50% of the electorate, their due right to proportional representation in government. This lack of female representation in government, as perpetuated by Najib, is an inexcusable step backward for Malaysia and gives good reason to believe his 1Malaysia is mere political rhetoric.

*Teresa Kok a state executive councilor for Selangor State Government. She is also Seputeh parliamentarian and Puchong state assemblyman.

“Although the federal government had issued football betting licence, the state government, via local authorities has the power to stop it.

“The company has to apply for licence from local authorities to operate football betting,” he said in a statement here.

Finance Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung had said the ministry had issued a company licence to operate football betting during World Cup 2010.

Khalid warned local authorities against issuing licence for football betting adding the state government would close premises operating illegal gambling.

He said issuing such licence would not eradicate illegal gambling but would aggravate social problems as the poor would gamble away their hard earned wages.

– BERNAMA

ATRIAL that could determine whether one of Asia’s fast-developing countries evolves into a democracy has been making lurid headlines this month around the region. Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader in Malaysia and one of the foremost advocates of political freedom in the Muslim world, stands accused of consensual homosexual sodomy, which in his country is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. That Mr. Anwar would be prosecuted on this charge is itself a human rights violation. But the testimony in the case is also revealing a blatant abuse of power by a man the Obama administration has been courting: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Mr. Anwar, a 62-year-old married father of six, heads an opposition coalition that for the past two years has been chipping away at the quasi-authoritarian regime that has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957. He has a chance of defeating Mr. Najib in the next general election — and transforming the country. So it’s been more than a little suspicious to see the testimony of his chief accuser, a 25-year-old man who claims that he had sex with Mr. Anwar in June 2008. Two days before the alleged encounter, the man said, he met with Mr. Najib; the next day he phoned the national police chief. Before filing his complaint, he consulted with a close friend of Mr. Najib’s wife. When the accuser finally stepped forward, two days after the supposed sex, doctors could find no evidence of sodomy.
Mr. Anwar has been in this situation before. In 1998, when his reformist ideas challenged then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, he was prosecuted on sodomy charges and imprisoned for six years — until a court ruled that the testimony against him had been coerced. Since then he has become a leading advocate of democratic reform as an antidote to Islamic extremism. The success of his multi-ethnic coalition could decisively push Malaysia into the democratic camp with neighboring Indonesia at a time when China’s authoritarian system threatens to become a regional model.
In short, Mr. Anwar is a natural ally of the United States — which is why it is odd that the Obama administration has all but ignored his case. While the previous sodomy conviction was condemned by senior Clinton administration officials, including Vice President Al Gore, the State Department has said nothing publicly about this trial. Nor did the White House mention it when President Obama met with Mr. Najib in Washington last month — an event hailed by Kuala Lumpur’s pro-government press as a U.S. endorsement. In fact, the administration seems to find Mr. Najib useful; he’s been helpful on issues such as nuclear proliferation, Iran and Afghanistan. But failing to protest his ugly persecution of Mr. Anwar is both shameful and shortsighted.
The above article was published as editorial in Washington Post on May 19, 2010. Official website is at www.washingtonpost.com

More than a decade after he was beaten, tried and jailed, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will once again face a Kuala Lumpur court today on charges of sodomy. The accusations are highly dubious and raise a serious question: Is this moderate Muslim democracy becoming a nation with no real rule of law?

The circumstances surrounding Mr. Anwar’s prosecution are suspiciously familiar to most Malaysians. In 1998, he was arrested as he was mounting serious arguments against the increasingly erratic government of United Malays National Organization chief Mahathir Mohamed. On a nearby page, Mr. Anwar’s former aide Munawar Anees describes being tortured and forced to confess to sodomy, a criminal offense in Malaysia. Mr. Anwar was convicted of sodomy and abuse of power and served six years in jail before the sodomy ruling was overturned in 2004. He was allowed to run for political office again in 2008, which he did, in earnest.

Mr. Anwar was arrested again in July 2008, a day after participating in his first nationally televised debate in more than a decade—an event that showcased his political skills and highlighted the growing momentum behind his three-party opposition coalition. He was accused of sodomy with a 23-year-old former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Mr. Saiful was taken into protective police custody after he made his allegation and has since rarely been seen in public. The government denies any political motivation for the charges. Mr. Saiful himself has not been charged.

As in 1998, the evidence in this case is thin at best. The police made a show of arresting Mr. Anwar, put him in jail for a night, and forced him to undergo a humiliating medical “examination.” The government then passed a bill in parliament to give the police expanded powers to collect DNA in criminal cases. Mr. Anwar’s lawyers claim they have a hospital report that shows no sodomy occurred.

Also troubling is the public involvement of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was deputy leader at the time of Mr. Anwar’s 2008 arrest—and the man most politically threatened by Mr. Anwar’s popularity. Mr. Najib acknowledged that he was photographed with and spoke to Mr. Saiful after he was allegedly sodomized and before he went to the hospital for tests. Mr. Najib says he didn’t influence Mr. Saiful’s decision to press charges. Mr. Saiful couldn’t be reached for comment.

This story would sound familiar in a tinpot dictatorship. But Malaysia isn’t one. Along with Indonesia, it forms the backbone of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Its citizens today have far more access to news and information through the Internet than they did 12 years ago. They also have the power to vote.

And that may be the mechanism that keeps Malaysia free and honest. Ordinary citizens—including the majority ethnic Malays—increasingly support Mr. Anwar’s secular platform of religious tolerance, economic liberty and modernization. The opposition won five of 13 states in national elections in 2008, and it has since won seven of nine by-elections. Mr. Anwar was re-elected to parliament in a by-election the month after his arrest in 2008. There will likely be protests in front of the courthouse to show support for him.

The trial that begins today threatens domestic political unrest and undermines confidence, at home and around the world, in Malaysia’s rule of law.

While the state supports efforts to curb corruption and abuse of power, the state will not tolerate any attempts to obstruct the running of its administration through repeated harassment against its officers.

The State Government would also like to stress that the Selangor state government circular dated July 28, 2009, which requires the MACC to conduct interrogations on state officials between 8am and 6.30am with the presence of a lawyer still stands.

The challenge by the Attorney General Tan Sri Gani Patail on the legality of the circular is ongoing. It is hoped that MACC and its officials will respect the circular, which protects all state employees’ rights.

The State also notes that to date all MACC investigations on state officials including that of the Menteri Besar, has focused on frivolous issues as depicted in yesterday’s raid on the office of YB Yaakob Sapari and the remand of his executive officer Hussein Ahmad.

The State is also alarmed by the information that MACC had conducted a search to Hussein’s home without a proper warrant. “The State Government demands an an explanation from MACC Selangor on the illegal search,” said Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Furthermore, the MACC investigation involves a company that is not in fact within the contract award list for sand-mining activities. The accusation that an official trip to China was paid for by a contractor is also false, as the State government covered the RM3,295 for Hussein’s two-day trip.

It is therefore puzzling that MACC has spent substantial time and manpower to investigate these issues while cases involving millions of ringgits of the rakyat’s money have not been properly investigated including the RM1.7 million spent for the former Selangor Menteri Besar and his entourage to visit two Disneyland theme parks in the United States and France.

“What are the priorities of the MACC? It needs to set its priorities right so that it would not be seen as a political tool. If it acted professionally and independently, the state would have no qualms in providing assistance,” said Tan Sri Abdul Khalid.

PRESS SECRETARIAT
OFFICE OF SELANGOR MENTERI BESAR

The campus will be able to provide the relevant services like an advisory panel and assistance in seed capital, designing organizational structure, marketing operation and supply chain management – all needed to build a creative poll of entrepreneurs particularly those in the technology industry (technopreneurs).

The State Government will help by facilitating the linkages between technopreneurs and the Venture Capital funds, involve the universities to be the source of innovation and foster the establishment of a number of technopreneurs centres each focusing on a particular industry cluster.

As the state capital, Shah Alam should be the centre of such development and we have identified i-City in Shah Alam to provide such a campus due to many reasons. Apart from having a ready infrastructure and facilities, i-City has been given the “MSC” status which means that companies based there will enjoy the various benefits under the MSC Bill of Guarantees.
Being developed by i-Berhad, i-City has a strong entrepreneur root and such will be in good position to understand the needs and problems by the entrepreneurs’ community which makes it a suitable place an entrepreneur’s campus.

In order to ensure the success of this effort, the state is bringing in Californian Silicon valley-based Plug and Play and Play Tech Centre which has a strong record in establishing technopreneur community in the Silicon valley and therefore can be a good role model for the entrepreneurs’ campus in Shah Alam.

TAN SRI ABDUL KHALID IBRAHIM
DATO’ MENTERI BESAR SELANGOR